Soup is a great healthy way to start your lunch or dinner. I find myself making at least one pot of soup a week. The majority of these steaming hot bowls of goodness are broth based. Rarely do I use heavy cream simply because I don’t want the extra calories. Not to mention most creamy soups are delicious on their own. Especially this one!
This recipe was a complete hit with my family! Even my husband who hates celery (man he really sounds pickier in posts than he actually is) absolutely loved it! According to him, and this honestly means a lot to me… It’s the best soup I’ve ever made! Now that’s pretty huge. He’s a typical husband who generally nods his head yes to the question, Is it good? But not this time. On his own!! Like no prodding… no questions. I came home from Zumba and I asked him, did you eat dinner? He said Uh-huh. Then BOOM! He dropped the I LOVE IT! bombshell on me. Deep breath… Trying to get my head around that.
Look how beautiful these vegetables and herbs are? No cream, no high calorie ingredients! Why ruin change the taste with heavy cream and at only 75 calories per cup, I’ll be eating this all day!
Celery and Pear Soup (makes 10 cups)
Ingredients:
- 1 Head of Celery, set aside leaves
- 1 Leek, white and green parts
- 18oz Asian Pears or any variety of Pears, cored (or less if you prefer less sweet)
- 3 Bay Leaf
- 3-4 twigs of Thyme
- 1 1/2T Flour
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- Salt and Pepper
- For Garnish: Celery Leaves, fresh Thyme and chopped Pear
Directions:
- Roughly chop celery, pears and leek.
- In a large pot melt butter. Add pears and vegetables, thyme and bay leaves. Sauté, then cover and let vegetables soften, stirring occasionally.
- Once softened add flour and stir to coat.
- Add in chicken broth. Increase heat to high, bring to summer. Then reduce heat to low, cover and leave to boil 25 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.
- Discard bay leaves. Puree with a blender or Immersion Blender until creamy. It’s ok if you have a couple of stray pieces. It’ll add nice texture for you.
- Serve hot. Ladle into bowls and garnish with thyme, chopped pears and celery leaves.
